


Losing Count (Missing Scenes and Extra's from Until I Lose Count)

by Baneismydragon



Series: Let me count the ways [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Missing Scene, Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, alternate POV, honestly I really just can't stop writing this stupid story no matter how I try, will add more tags as they apply
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-23
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-16 21:02:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7284679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baneismydragon/pseuds/Baneismydragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of short missing moments, alternate scenes, and extra's from my main fic "Until I Lose Count" However the chapters can be read as stand alone stories, though I do recommend reading the other fic first for a complete experience </p><p>Chapter 2 summary:<br/>. “Um… father?” He questioned softly.<br/>“Yes Adrien?”<br/>“How did you know… I mean… with Mom… how did you know that…?” He trailed off abashedly unable to tear his gaze away from the picture of the smiling girl before him.<br/>“How did I know that I was in love with your mother?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Some Fatherly Advice pt 1.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello to all who wanted extras! Here they begin!!!! 
> 
> This anthology will house all the random deleted scenes and extra ramblings from my UILC universe! Some of them will be fairly fleshed out, others just short drabbles, but if you like my Marichat madness then you will hopefully enjoy this collection. Most of the scenes are going to be from alternate POV as when I had originally started the fic it was not intended to be just a singular perspective, however as I went on I realized that UILC was Adrien's story and while having the others commenting was often fun it disrupted the flow of the narrative I wanted to tell. So instead all my various cut scenes will be getting cleaned up and posted here as their own stand alone side stories!!! 
> 
> This first short is from an earlier draft where the story was going to alternate between Adrien's and Marinette's life with other characters filling in the timeline by observing the change in relationships. Set between chapter 1 and chapter 2 of UILC Tom has a quiet conversation with his daughter about her changing perspective on her own feelings about the boys in her life.

“Papa? How can you be sure if a boy likes you?”

Tom looked up from the dough he had been kneading to look over at his daughter.

To an indifferent onlooker she would have seemed calm and collected. Her eyes were still fixed on the row of cookies she had offered to help decorate, her hands steady as they expertly piped out designs that she had long since memorized. But Tom was no stranger, and he knew his daughter well. He could see the way her weight was centered too far forward on the balls of her feet, could see the slight curl of her bottom lip where she had snagged it between her teeth, and most importantly he knew that if Marinette wanted to  ask a simple question, she would look you right in the eyes. Something was clearly troubling his little girl.

He casual went back to prepping the dough, as he gave out a thoughtful hum. “That is a very good question.” He replied lightly, pretending to focus on his work as he watched Marinette from the corner of his eye. Her lips pursed tighter as the silence stretched on.

After about 30 seconds she still hadn’t said anything, although he could see her bouncing ever so slightly on her toes. Interesting. Apparently this was very serious.

“I suppose it depends on the boy.” Tom offered at last, his tone still carefully nonchalant.

Marinette nodded at made a soft non-committal sound, still not looking up from her task.

“I am guessing this isn’t about Adrien then?” Tom pried gently. If Marinette’s long standing crush had finally decided to openly reciprocate her feelings, Tom was fairly sure she would have all but burned down the house in her excitement.

“No. I don’t think Adrien is ever going to think of me as more than a friend.” Marinette sighed softly. Tom bit down the smile that threatened to spread across his face at his daughter’s obliviousness. It had been obvious for months that the shy model was clearly attracted to her, even if the boy was too self-conscious to attempt more than stolen glances and almost imperceptible flirtations, but it wasn’t his place to interfere. Or so his wife keeps telling him.

“I see.” He said instead, moving the dough he had been working on into a covered bowl and re-flouring the table to begin on another batch. “In that case who is this mystery boy who may or may not be in love with you?”

“It’s no one you know.” Marinette said quickly, her face flushing scarlet as one of the cookies was drowned in an abundance of over squeezed frosting. “He’s just a friend that I see around sometimes, no one important.” She let out a very fake, very unconvincing laugh.

“Well that does make it a little harder to give you an opinion but I am happy to listen if you want to talk about it.” Tom continued in his deceptively neutral tone, as if he had not noticed Marinette’s fibbing. “It might help if you told me a little about him, after all if you think he likes you there must be something about his behavior that makes you feel that way.” He added, kneading out the dough in front of him with strong even strokes.

“Well, we’ve been friends for a while but lately he’s been spending a lot more time around Marinette… I mean Marinette me… I mean just me without anyone else.” Marinette began. She paused, clearly taking the time to think through her choice of words before she continued again. “He’s always been really supportive and dependable, but he’s also a bit of a flirt. I just sort of assumed he was that way all the time but…”

“Now you are wondering if he’s just been flirting with you?” Tom finished for her.

“Yeah.” She said quietly.

“Well it sounds to me like you already know if he likes you.” Tom said with a small chuckle. Watching as his daughters face turned a bright shade of crimson. “I suppose the more important question you need to ask is how do you feel about that fact?”

“I don’t know!” Marinette sighed, putting down the icing bag and leaning back against the counter. “I mean, I always thought that falling in love would be something where I just KNEW you know? Like with Adrien it was easy, I knew how I felt, how I feel… I don’t…” She sighed again. “It’s all just so confusing. We were never supposed to be like this, and now I am having to deal with liking two boys instead of just one.”

Well it looks like Sabine was right. Tom thought with a small smile.

“You know sweetheart, love isn’t something that just happens overnight. And you can like someone and not be in love with them. Sometimes you can love someone and not even realize it. Sometimes you can think you love someone and find out that it isn’t the right fit for you. There isn’t any one path to happiness.” He reached out and ruffled his daughter’s hair. “The important thing is that you don’t let yourself be too afraid of failing that you are never willing to try anything.”

Marinette smiled up at her father.

“You know that your mother and I will always be here to love and support you, no matter how many boys come knocking down our bakery door.”

“Papa! I hardly have a flock of boys chasing after me.”

“So you didn’t tell your mother all about how Nino was trying to date you before he and Alya started going out?”

“Papa! Nino and I are just friends”

“Or that artist boy who turned into an akuma and tried to kidnap you.”

“Nathaniel hardly tried to kidnap me he just wanted me to spend some time with him on his birthday! Besides I am pretty sure he is over me now anyways.”

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you always seem to have stories about the famous Chat Noir sweeping you up and rescuing you at least once a month.”

Marinette remained suspiciously silent as her blush deepened even further across her face.

Yep. Sabine was definitely right.

“Well,” Tom said clearing his throat and taking pity on his daughter’s discomfort, “I know that no matter what you decided to do everything will work out as long as you find a boy who can see how truly wonderful you are.” He pulled her into a tight hug.

“You know, I actually think he might.” Marinette said softly, her tone slightly awed as she returned her father’s embrace.


	2. Some Fatherly Advice Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel tries to be a good father... he just is bad at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I am going to just say flat out: Gabriel is one of my favorite characters. He is such a delightfully screwed up guy (And he is totally Papillion) I was really sad to cut out the scenes with him from my fic but ultimately I didn't want to have to spend too much time dealing with the nuisances of how much they fail at communicating to each other and how destructive it is to the relationship so it had to go.   
> This is a reworked version of one of the scenes rewritten into more of a stand alone piece.   
> Hope you enjoy and more notes from me later!

Despite what many people assumed, Gabriel Agreste was neither callous nor oblivious. So when Adrien began his obsessive fawning over the teenage heroine of Paris it had not escaped his father’s observant, if distant attention.

On some level he knew that the appropriate course of action would be to attempt to converse with his love-struck child, indulging in the parental ritual of encouraging his first significant crush or at least teasingly admonishing him for the amount of funds he dedicated towards acquiring Ladybug merchandise. However, emotional sensitivity had always been _her_ specialty, and like so many other things in the Agreste household, Gabriel was happy to leave this particular conversation untouched until his wife was safely returned and the world had reverted back to its proper order.

Besides, he didn’t really know how to feel about his son idolizing someone whom he could technically consider his arch-enemy.

 While Gabriel had every confidence that he could repress his ever increasing loathing for the frustrating vigilante, the less he talked about the subject in front of Adrien the better. After all, why take the unnecessary risk that he might say something that would expose his more… extracurricular activities?

No, clearly it was in everyone’s best interest at the current time to simply pretend that he was unaware of his son’s infatuation.

 With any luck, the one good thing that would come from Adrien’s insistence on attending an unsecure public school was he could find a better alternative to a superhero celebrity crush. He just hoped it wouldn’t be the Bourgeois girl. As undeniably useful as she was for his more mystical agenda, the girl really was rather insufferable.

As weeks stretched into months, Gabriel found himself growing increasingly more concerned by his son’s unyielding fidelity to the spotted heroine.

Of course it all made sense once he finally realized that the other half of Paris’ dynamic duo had been hiding under his nose this entire time.

He really shouldn’t have been surprised, after all, Adrien was most certainly his mother’s son.

That had been an interesting conundrum of emotions, leading to a week of sleepless nights full of dreams of bloody and beaten cats that left him waking in cold sweats, calculating what the odds would be of simply confiscating the damn ring without permanently destroying his already tenuous relationship with his son.

Ultimately, Gabriel had simply outline a more detailed list of prerequisites for potential akuma candidates (after all one didn’t need to be a violent psychopath to retrieve jewelry from children, and he hadn’t actively wanted either of them harmed even before this revelation), invested in some high grade sleeping pills, and continued along with his original plan.

After all, he reasoned, by the time Adrien found out, if ever, what Gabriel had been doing, his mother would be safely returned and they could hopefully put this whole miraculous nonsense behind their family for good. If Adrien noticed in the meantime that he was often surprised with gifts or unprecedented free time after particularly strenuous battles, he chose not to comment on it.

Knowing his sons secret did, however, effect his apathy in regards to his son’s love life. More often than not any injury or damage suffered by Chat Noir in battle was a direct result of a case of misguided chivalry when it came to protecting the ever elusive Ladybug, and it became increasingly difficult for Gabriel to resist dropping scathing criticisms of the teenaged heroine into his conversations. Several times he had literally bit his tongue to stop himself from lecturing the boy on how there was little point in getting himself beaten to a pulp over a girl who clearly did not plan to reciprocate his feelings.

Besides, the fact that she was still continuing to reject Adrien all these months later was clear proof that the girl was an idiot.

It wasn’t until a little after the New Year that Gabriel noticed the first sign of change.

It was a subtle thing, which was not surprising given the limited amount of heartfelt conversation, or even face to face interactions, that took place between father and son.

He had snuck quietly into Adrien’s room to check that his son was actually home, a habit that had become increasing more frequent after discovering the boy’s secret identity. He lingered in the shadows, watching affectionately as Adrien restlessly paced around his room, oblivious to his presence, ranting softly to his kwami. The irritating little creature (whom Gabriel suspected was much less ignorant to his presence) moaned something about cheese and flittered out of sight as Adrien plopped down at his desk. The boy began haphazardly tearing through one of his desk draws until he victoriously produced a somewhat gaudy looking pink and green… was that a bracelet? Well whatever it was Adrien was staring at it like it might somehow convey the secrets of the universe. He didn’t say anything else, just continued to gaze fondly at the strange little string of beads, but Gabriel didn’t bother to repress the smirk that came to his face as he silently retreated from his son’s room.

If the soft blush and gentle smile on Adrien’s face were anything to go by, Ladybug might finally have acquired some competition.

…

Over the course of the next few weeks Gabriel watched with growing amusement as Adrien’s behavior began to fall into new patterns. Sneaking out became more frequent, but his trips now tended to fall predictably from late afternoon through the early evening as opposed to his previous more spontaneous late night roaming. Also, while he disappeared from his bedroom more often than not on days when he had free time, he was less likely to run off while out with his bodyguard or Natalie much to everyone’s delight.

Most nights Gabriel could clandestinely peer in on his son, cheerfully finish up his assignments or playing assorted video games, a dreamy smile on his face that was so painfully familiar that it made his chest ache.

For the first time in longer than he cared to think about Adrien seemed genuinely happy.

By the end of January Gabriel had begun to see a decrease in the Ladybug paraphernalia worming its way into the house, and by the first week of February he had caught sight of several photos of a pretty dark haired girl holding a place of honor on his son’s desk.

He had recognized her of course. Gabriel had made a point of familiarizing himself with all of Adrien’s classmates and had detailed portfolios on file for each one.

Marinette Dupain-Chang. A good student, though not quite as accomplished as Adrien in terms of academic study. Respectable family, moderate income but no major scandals or red flags from that angle. A very promising artistic talent, he remembered, ambitious too, not afraid to ruthlessly crush an opponent who attempted to rob her of her success.

Gabriel couldn’t resist a soft chuckle. Adrien really did take after his mother.

…

Gabriel waited until he heard the telltale sounds of pacing before knocking lightly on Adrien’s door. Today’s akuma had proven to be particularly incompetent, leading everyone on a frustrating chase for the better part of five hours and not even coming close to capturing either miraculous.

Adrien had seemed especially out of sorts, lashing out at the akuma with an unrivaled zeal, and while there was little Gabriel could do to rectify the lack of progress accomplished today thanks to the underachieving akuma, perhaps he could at least try to connect with his son.

He knocked again, louder this time, and was finally rewarded with a surprised “come in”.

He schooled his features into the usual look of calm control that had served him so well throughout his life and confidently strode into his sons room.

Adrien was slouched in his desk chair, staring absently out the windows. “Is there something wrong with my schedule?” He asked not even bothering to turn around.

“You would have to ask Natalie, she is far more up to date on these things.”

“Father!” Adrien yelped. Spinning around and straighten in his seat. “What are you… I mean… is something wrong?” He stammered, looking equal parts shocked and concerned.

Gabriel sighed inwardly. How had everything gotten so out of hand? Had their lives really gotten so desperate that they were more afraid of each other like this than they were in their alternate personas?

“Nothing is wrong, Adrien. Is it so strange that I would want to check in on you?”

The slight hesitation that followed screamed ‘yes’ and Gabriel had to force himself not to turn tail and flee the room.

“Of course not, I was just surprised.” Adrien finally offered. Sitting back down cautiously, trying and failing to school his own features into a mask of indifference.

“Have things been going well at school?” Gabriel asked, hoping desperately to deflect from the suffocating tension that had arisen between them.

“Yeah, for the most part.” Adrien stated with a small sigh.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“I mean yes!” Adrien blurted, flushing guiltily, “I’ve been getting top marks and it hasn’t been a problem keeping up with my assignments even with how busy things have been with the launch.” He hurriedly explained, looking up with a strange combination of self-assurance and fear.

“I have no concerns on that score.” Gabriel stated blandly, watching as Adrien sagged in relief. “I suppose I should have asked if there was something more personal going on that I should know about.” He shot a deliberately look to the framed photos on Adrien’s desk.

“Oh.” Adrien flushed. “That’s Marinette, she’s in my class at school.”  
“I am aware”

“Right. Well we are friends… I mean… I guess you could say we are more than friends… I mean… it’s complicated.” He trailed off, face a vivid shade of scarlet as he stared down at the plush carpeting.   
  
“I see.” Gabriel stated. For the first time he wondered what kind of bizarre predicament his son had managed to get himself into. Given the frequency with which he snuck around he had assumed that Adrien was simply disappearing from the house and then transforming back to meet up with his secret girlfriend, hiding it from him solely out of some misguided fear that harmless teenage girls would be banned from the house. His dislike of the Lahieffe boy aside (a perfectly reasonable reaction to a wanna be DJ who looked as if he would try to drag Adrien off to some hippy music festival in Amsterdam at the first reasonable opportunity) Gabriel had never actively discouraged Adrien from finding friends or from attempting to spend time with them, so long as it was in a safe and controlled environment. Perhaps he should have been clearer on the subject.

Now it suddenly dawned on Gabriel that perhaps his son had been using his super hero guise for more than side kicking for the spotted menace. He wouldn’t really be foolish enough to try and court a girl while… oh who was he kidding? It was like watching his mother all over again. Of course he was running around impressing his classmate as a super hero.

Honestly Gabriel was ashamed that he hadn’t seen this coming.

The silence stretched out between them as Gabriel wracked his brain for how to react to the situation. He couldn’t even begin to talk to Adrien about anything without revealing that he was well aware of his son’s secret identity, and confessing that would stir up too many questions that were far better left unasked at present.

This ongoing battle needed to be over soon, Gabriel thought wearily, but had spent too many years fighting to restore his family and he would be damned if he gave up now. Soon.

In the meantime he simply reached out and patted his son awkwardly on the shoulder in an attempt at a comforting gesture.

“Well she seems like a lovely girl.” He stated at last, relief flowing through him when he saw Adrien break into a hesitant smile.

“Yeah. Yeah she is.” His son replied softly, turning his gaze to the photographs. “Um… father?” He questioned softly.   
“Yes Adrien?”

“How did you know… I mean… with Mom… how did you know that…?” He trailed off abashedly unable to tear his gaze away from the picture of the smiling girl before him.   
“How did I know that I was in love with your mother?” Gabriel finished for him, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Yeah”

“It wasn’t something that happened instantly. I knew that I cared for her, and of course I knew that she was beautiful.” Gabriel smiled thoughtfully, “but I think what made me realize that I loved her was the fact that everything was easier when she was with me. I have always believed that anything worth having in life is worth struggling for, but somehow she made the fighting effortless. She never lost faith in me, not for anything, and one day I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life proving to her that she had been right to believe in me, because she made me believe in myself.”

Adrien nodded and Gabriel reached out and softly ruffled his son’s hair.

“You have so much of your mother in you.” He said softly, for once allowing his features to relax into a gentle expression.

“I miss her so much.” Adrien confessed, his eyes glazing with grief and loss that shot straight to Gabriel’s heart.

“So do I.” He gave Adrien a final, only slightly awkward pat on the cheek before clearing his throat. “Well, I should leave you to your studies.” He stated mildly, settling back into the collected posture that had seen him through a lifetime of hard won success. Purposefully he strode back towards the door.

“Of course.” Adrien stated dully, shrinking back in on himself and quickly burying the vulnerable expression that had dominated his features just moments before.

“I hope that you will bring Miss Dupain-Cheng by sometime.” He spoke as he reached for the door handle not bothering to turn around. “I would very much enjoy meeting her in person.”

“Really?” Adrien’s voice was colored with so much hope and affection that Gabriel had to stifle a laugh. “I mean… you wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not. Your girlfriend is more than welcome here anytime.”

He could hear Adrien awkwardly stuttering out syllables as he pulled open the door and stepped into the hall.

“Dad?” Gabriel froze at the long abandoned title.

“Yes Adrien?”

“Thank you.”

Gabriel turned his head to gaze at his son. His perfect child. _HER_ child. So similar in so many ways. Looking up at him with the same hesitant, hopeful affection shining from brilliant green eyes that he had fallen captive too so many years ago.

Gabriel felt a new wave of determination rush through him. He would save his family. He would banish the haunted look from his son’s eyes that had taken root on that fateful day 5 years earlier and that he had been helpless to prevent. They would be happy.

For the first time in weeks he felt his resolve click back into place. He knew what needed to be done, and he could manage no matter how impossible it might seem. For them, it would be easy.

“I love you Adrien.” He said quietly. A steely determination settling over him like armor as he drank in his son’s awestruck expression.

“I love you too.”

He turned and walked out of his son’s room, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the empty stone corridors.

He had work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! For those who have waited so patiently the next cut scene that I have in my editing block right now is the "Adrien gets to find out that Marinette is Ladybug" reveal that did not make it into the original story! 
> 
> Anyways if you enjoyed this snippet my next 2 works that will be going up both heavily focus on the relationship between Gabriel and Adrien so feel free to check them out as they are published as well! 
> 
> Thanks again and see you next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> NEXT CHAPTER: 
> 
> Next time- Some Fatherly Advice pt. 2  
> Gabriel is not as unobservant as people give him credit for.


End file.
